Technology Digests / Effects of Lubrication and Curvature on Wear in a Low Tonnage Route

TD25-011

August 20, 2025
Authors
  • Ananyo Banerjee
  • Ryan Alishio
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Key Findings

  • Regardless of the lubrication conditions, low rates of rail wear per year were measured on the curves of this low tonnage test route.
  • Results from Phase I (dry) and Phase II (GF lubrication) indicate improvement in gage corner and GF wear for high rail on 2- through 5-degree curves after the introduction of GF lubrication.
  • On the low rail, both head area wear rates and measured friction levels generally decreased with the addition of GF lubrication but showed potential indications of influence from unintended effects, such as differences in how the lubrication migrated from the GF to the TOR surface.

Effects of Lubrication and Curvature on Wear in a Low Tonnage Route

MxV Rail has a long history of carrying out rail lubrication related tests.1 In 2021, MxV Rail began testing on BNSF Railway’s El Paso subdivision (sub) to monitor rail wear in the presence and absence of gage face (GF) lubrication in a variety of curves ranging from 1 to 6 degrees. The curves are located on a low tonnage route near Rincon, NM, with an average yearly accumulation of 12 to 14 million gross tons (MGT). Traffic is 80 percent mixed freight with most trains carrying grain.  In late 2020, BNSF approached MxV Rail with the idea of conducting tests on their tracks to measure high and low rail wear on curves with different degrees of curvature in order to monitor the effects of curvature and lubrication on rail wear. This study focuses on understanding how lubrication affects rail wear on different curvatures and how the distance of lubricators from…